An Analysis of the Income Redistribution Effect of the Consumption Tax in China

作为特定性税种,消费税已经成为政府调节收入分配不可或缺的重要工具,其收入分配效应也引起了关注。本文通过对我国城镇居民税前税后基尼系数差值的估算,得出了我国消费税的收入再分配效应,并用Kakwani分解方法研究了形成这一效应的结构性原因。研究发现:(1)我国的消费税总体呈现出累进性,有利于收入再分配;(2)不同应税项目对收入再分配的调节作用有所不同,其中烟和酒消费税对收入再分配具有负向调节作用,成品油和汽车消费税对收入再分配具有较强的正向调节作用;(3)成品油和汽车消费税对收入再分配的正向调节作用抵消了烟和酒对收入再分配的负向调节作用,最终使得消费税的收入再分配总效应表现为较强的正向调节。As a specific tax, consumption tax has become a useful tool to adjust income redistribution. However, there has always been a dispute whether it can work on. This paper uses the Income Redistribution Effect to estimate the consumption tax＇s income redistribution. Moreover, the paper uses the Kakwani＇s Decompose Method to explore the reason. The paper finds that the total consumption tax is progressive, which can promote the redistribution of income; that the degree of adjustment about the income redistribution depends on the tax items, such as, the fuel tax and vehicle tax are progressive but the cigarette tax and alcohol tax are regressive; and that the lower regressivity of cigarette tax and alcohol tax and the much higher progressivity of fuel tax and vehicle tax lead to the positive adjustment of the total consumption tax